There have been renewed questions around the safety of the herbicide glyphosate in light of the recent retraction of an influential peer-reviewed research article. Originally published in 2000 in the academic journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, the article claimed that glyphosate posed no risk to human health.
Glyphosate is widely used in forestry, agriculture and land-use management. Commercially sold under brands such as Roundup, it's the most widely used herbicide in Canada.
In the journal's retraction notice, the (co)editor-in-chief wrote: "Concerns were raised regarding the authorship of this paper, validity of the research findings in the context of misrepresentation of the contributions by the authors and the study sponsor and potential conflicts of interest of the authors."
These potential conflicts raise questions about the study's authorship and results, and renew concerns about the safety of glyphosate. According to Health Canada, consuming foods treated with glyphosate does "not result in any human health concern to any segment of the population." This aligns with findings from other governments, including the United States, New Zealand and Australia.
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